I've spent the past month or so trying to think of the best way to say this. Nevertheless, I think I will still come up short. So, I might as well just come out with it: I am no longer in a school counseling position. Just typing those words breaks my heart. However, this was a "conscious uncoupling" from my work relationship, so while painful, it's still a positive thing.

I've been thinking about making a change for a few years, but loved my school community and my job too much to take the plunge. Then, this school year in particular, I was struggling with my oldest son (who now will be receiving services as a preschooler with Autism) and a new baby, all while managing the weight of all of my students' worries, crises, and heartbreaks. I realized that I had to make a difficult decision in order to be the best mom and educator; I needed to step back and focus on a smaller number of students, as opposed to a whole building.

Once the thought popped into my head, I felt sick to my stomach. I consulted with fellow school counselors, had heart-to-hearts with current teachers, and weighed the pros and cons with my supportive husband more times that I can count. At transfer day, I walked in feeling as if I would faint and throw up (in no particular order), knowing that I was about to make a huge, life-changing decision - a decision that I couldn't simply "take back" if I changed my mind. When my name was called, I bid on a First Grade teaching position and well, that was that. The other staff members in the room saw me crying and I'm sure they were thinking, Girl, you got what you wanted. Why are you so upset? Well, to be honest, I was upset for many reasons, but mostly because I wasn't leaving my position because I hated the people or because I had a conflict I needed to run from. I was leaving because I wanted to make sure I took care of my own health in order to best take care of my family and my students.

While I'm beyond ecstatic to start my teaching career (and yes, I'm not naïve and know this will be stressful too), the thought of someone else in MY office, changing MY program, working with MY students is heartbreaking. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but it's true. It's like I broke up with my job, but I'm mad they started dating again. That's not fair, but that's how I feel. I can't have my cake and eat it too, but I wannnnnnnnna.

So, now to what happens to my beloved website. I will absolutely be keeping this website up and running and, when appropriate, will still share ideas that connect with school counseling. I may not be actively working as a school counselor, but I'm still licensed and more importantly, my heart and mind still feel "school counselory." I just can't give up a part of who I am. Not possible.

To all of you who are in similar stages of your career, please don't take my transition into the classroom as a sign of defeat, like the profession is just too much for anyone to handle. Of course school counseling is a tremendously challenging job, but it's amazing too. I think my personal life made it difficult to do everything I was used to doing as a school counselor - it's hard worrying about your child and managing their unique needs, while also being the go-to person for everyone else's struggles.

Thank you for your kindness and support! I'll still be here to cheer on and advocate for the best profession in the world! :)

Shaun the Sheep is a cute character from Aardman Animations. On the Shaun the Sheep YouTube channel, you can find short videos that your students will love. I use them in my small groups to reflect on positive school behaviors and interpersonal skills. When students earn a "lunch in the school counselor's office" reward, sometimes I show these clips while we eat. Each clip sparks great group discussion about what it means to "play fair," show good sportsmanship, treat others with respect, and more.

You could also use Shaun the Sheep during your classroom lessons to introduce a new concept, transition to a group activity, or close a lesson.

When I want to keep track of specific behaviors during my group sessions, I use ClassDojo (previous Website of the Month). You can use it K-6, but it may need to look differently at each grade level. Not only does ClassDojo keep excellent data for me, it also helps my students set goals and identify the target behaviors they are demonstrating in each session.

With ClassDojo, I can organize all of my groups and archive them at the end of each school year. I love being able to look back at how individual students and groups performed, because I can use that information to better facilitate future small groups.

Another great ClassDojo feature is that each group can focus on customizable target behaviors. Since the focus is on the positive behaviors, I don't include many negatives (where students lose "Dojo points"). The only negative I use is "disrespectful to others" because I want to show that I will not tolerate hurtful words or actions in our group sessions. I've never had to use it, but the students know it's there. I think it's important to show that in order for our group to be successful, we MUST be kind to one another; our group needs to be a safe space to communicate our thoughts and feelings.

I am lucky enough to have a SMARTboard in my room, so I project the ClassDojo screen and add points through that board. It helps students to see their progress throughout the session. Then, I reset the points at the end of the group (which doesn't delete the data) so that we can start fresh the next group time. If you don't have a SMARTboard, you can use your desktop computer, a tablet, or smart phone.

ClassDojo also added some AMAZING video tools too! In their Big Ideas section, you can watch mini-series about growth mindset, perseverance, empathy, and gratitude. You can check out the first episodes on ClassDojo's YouTube channel, but if you create a free account on their main page, you can watch all of them.

New Small Group Activities Added!

What Do You Do With An Idea? is a wonderful book that explains how ideas can be exciting and scary, all at the same time. In the story, the main character likes their idea, but is worried about what other people might think or say.

Often, we spend so much time stressing about putting our thoughts and feelings on the table that we keep potentially AMAZING ideas to ourselves. Our students are no different. My goal is to encourage my creative, enthusiastic elementary kiddos to be confident and assertive; I want them to know that their opinions matter and that without them, the world would be a boring place, full of the same old ideas and the same old conversations.

You could open this lesson by showing the "Ideas Are Scary" commercial from GE. It grabs your attention and gives a clear symbol of how ideas enter the world, grow, and flourish.

Then, after reading the book, have a discussion with your students about why ideas are scary. Have they ever felt like they needed to keep their thoughts or feelings to themselves out of fear that someone might judge them? I wanted to focus this conversation on ideas that could make our school a better place - ideas that may seem impossible or silly at first.

The students write down their ideas and add a picture to illustrate the impact of that idea (i.e. starting a buddy bench at school, sitting next to someone new at lunch, picking up litter in the hallway, etc.).

I heard about Mind Yeti a little over a year ago when one of my colleagues tried it out. Her K-2 students loved it, so I thought I'd learn more. Once I began exploring the features, I was hooked!

For school counselors, this resource can be used individually, in small groups, during classroom lessons, and for the moments you need to close your door and "reboot" after a rough school moment. That's the beauty of Mind Yeti!

Mind Yeti provides both a free resource and paid premium service. Through Mind Yeti, you get guided mindfulness sessions to help kids calm down, focus their attention, and transition to new activities. As I'm sure you've heard, mindfulness in the classroom can help create a happy, calm and positive culture. When you have a tool like Mind Yeti, it's easy to integrate mindfulness strategies into your day.

I've used Mind Yeti in a variety of settings, but my favorite has been during a 6th Grade classroom lesson. I have a "Relaxation Experiment" for the students and I incorporated Mind Yeti sessions. The students love the calming voices, soothing music, and overall content of the sessions.